** I Need Help!!! **

Did that get your attention? Good!

Ok, here's what I need. The help is not so much for me, but for friends who have been saddled with a truly wretched autoimmune disorder, Type 1, or "juvenile," diabetes. My job is to raise $4k for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, your job is to help me reach this lofty goal.

The people featured in this video are personal friends of mine...this is the team I have been training with and will join to pedal 105 miles through the harsh environment of Death Valley. Many of the riders are themselves Type 1 diabetics. This is not a disease of overweight and/or inactive individuals. Juvenile diabetes doesn't discriminate.

My hubby is the big guy at 1:40 and 3:33. He is also in his 2nd year as an assistant coach for our West Michigan team. The little girl at the end of the video is our son's age. She has had to endure several times daily finger-pricks to test her blood since she was a small child. No child or adult should have to face such dangerous interruptions to a normal, healthy life. No one should have to live with frequent insulin injections (at all times of the day) and/or an insulin pump strapped to their body at all times. No one should have to analyze ever bite of food they ingest in an attempt to avoid blood sugar spikes and crashes.

You can read more about the specific young woman who is inspiring my fundraising, training, and eventual ride through the desert. Kids and adults like Allison deserve to no longer be saddled by this awful disease.

If you can help me, click the box below to make a tax-deductable online donation. If you'd rather donate via check just e-mail me (harumph at gmail.com) for my mailing address and make your check out to JDRF.

And become a Facebook fan of our West Michigan Ride Team. They are a super-cool bunch...and I don't just say that because I'm one of them. I joined because they are so awesome. And because no one should have to endure a life-threatening autoimmune disease. Recent Scientific research has made great strides towards finding a cure. I am confident that the money we raise will get us there soon, and allow us the bonus gift of riding our bikes just to ride our bikes, instead of as a means to raise money and awareness for a deadly disease.

These are a few of my favorite things...

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